William Kieschnick, a longtime adviser to the Rice Board of Trustees, died Aug. 21 at his home in Napa, Calif. He was 90.

William Kieschnick

Kieschnick served as a term governor on the Rice board from 1981 to 1985 and had been a trustee adviser ever since.

A native of Dallas, Kieschnick enrolled at Rice but left during World War II to serve in the Army. He returned to the university and completed his B.S. degree in chemical engineering in 1947. He received a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1981.

For 38 years he worked for the Atlantic Richfield oil company, from which he retired as president and chief executive officer in 1985 at age 62. He was credited with stabilizing the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles while serving as the museum’s board chairman.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Kieschnick had Parkinson’s disease and recently suffered a stroke.

He is survived by his wife, Carol; a son, Michael; a daughter, Meredith; a stepdaughter, Cynthia; 10 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter